Ragnarok – Season 3 Episode 5 “A Farewell To Arms” Recap & Review

A Farewell To Arms

Episode 5 of Ragnarok Season 3 starts with Wotan smoking and pointing out that Magne is out of his depth. He sees visions of Magne being consumed by Mjolnir’s power, and they’re so greatly influential, that he snaps back to reality. He realizes that they need to find another way to take out the Giants, as the hammer’s power may be too much for the young man to handle.

Ran gets nowhere in her search for salvation, as her chat with Laurits doesn’t do anything to help her case. She heads back to see her therapist, and points out how fragile she is, leaning forward and hugging him.

With Ragnarok fast approaching, Wotan shows up with Jens and Kiwi, believing that they have abilities that can help Magne. They’re basically Balder and Heimdall reincarnated. But then Balder dies in the old saga, and given this is the title awarded to Jens, Laurits is not happy.

Magne shows up and believes that Mjolnir is the turning point of this battle and he can use it to enslave the Giants. That way the “little people” in town will respect them. Iman and Harry are shocked by Magne’s new behaviour and in a touch of Deja vu to episode 1, they all decide to leave… except Wotan.

Wotan points out that Magne is on a dangerous path and he needs to stick around to make sure the young man is okay. In fact, Wotan wants to help train Magne and get him ready for this fight.

Wotan leads Magne out into the woods and talks about Thor with him. In fact, he’s brought to an area that was once a shrine for the God of Thunder. Magne is on edge, and he ends up killing a hare in his hastiness for bloodshed. Wotan tells him he’s not ready and he needs to prepare, but Magne is way too hotheaded to listen.

When he walks away, Magne stumbles upon Saxa, who’s just off in the woods for a stroll. She admits she missed him and she actually stole the hammer to give back to him. And Magne almost falls for it.

This time though, he sees through her lies and points out she clearly just wants the hammer. When she brandishes a spear, a short showdown eventually ends with Saxa walking away, and Wotan watching the whole thing unfold.

He sits down with Magne and admits that he needs to gain control of the hammer, because right now the hammer has control over him. Magne needs to face his biggest fear but do so without the hammer. He rolls the stones and hands over a joint to Magne, having him take a toke and reveal what he’s truly scared of. It’s not the Giants he’s afraid of, but actually letting down the people he cares for and loves.

Saxa shows up to see Fjor, pointing out that her pass doesn’t work anymore, despite making a big show of them being joint managers now. Anyway, that’s definitely not a thing anymore, and Saxa is quick to point out that they need to dispatch Magne once and for all. The only way to do that is to stick together, and she proposes a thin truce.

The family decide to do this and set out a plan to strike hard and fast. With weapons armed, they look set to leave… until Wotan and Magne arrive at the front door. They’re unwilling to allow a sneak attack to take place and the Giants slump away as before.

Back home, Magne apologizes for the way he’s been acting and his rash behaviour… again. He also understands why Laurits decided to give the hammer to the Giants and why his comrades doubted him. Haven’t we already seen this chat like three times this season? Anyway, I digress.

Laurits suggests they use the serpent to do their bidding, but Wotan isn’t sure given it’s a chaos monster. As the group try to come up with a plan, Magne is the leader and he decides the options are between war and peace. He decides they need to risk everything, and that means fighting to the bitter end. Together. As a team.

Before the fight, Magne heads back to see Signy, congratulating her on her work. She’s understandably cold toward him after what’s happened. Magne apologizes and points out he’s a complete idiot. Signy needs time to comprehend everything though.

While this is going on, Laurits gives a heartfelt goodbye to Little O, pointing out the times they’ve spent together and how much he cares for the serpent.

It’s the final goodbye before the fight and everyone walks purposefully down the street, ready for a gang fight with the Jutuls. Given we know the police are operating in the area, we’ll have to wait and see if they get involved. (News flash: they don’t.) The trio of giants show down at the dockyard.

Just before the fighting starts, everyone has a change of heart and they throw down their weapons. The Giants would have to choose between death or a New World Order… and they choose the latter, with Magne’s Mjolnir and newfound levelheadedness just too great to try and fight back against.

A new peace agreement is forged while Fjor steps down, prompting all the good guys to party. It’s complete mayhem when Turid and Erik return from their honeymoon but they get involved too.

Magne is not fulfilled though and he messages Saxa that night, asking her for forgiveness. Despite there being balance between the two sides, something appears to be stirring in the ethos…

The Episode Review

So after 5 episodes of build-up and preparing for this fight against the Giants we just get… a peace treaty. For those who watched Heroes, this is very reminiscent of the fight that had been brewing between the two Petrelli brothers for so many episodes, only to take place for 5 minutes behind closed doors that we don’t even see take place.

It’s frustrating storytelling and the distinct lack of action is not doing this show any favours. The entire narrative this season has revolved around the growing threat of Ragnarok and what that means for our characters, only to see Magne go from good to bad to good to bad and now back to good again. It’s like the writers couldn’t quite work out what to do with his persona so they just had him flip-flop back and forth for fun.

As for the rest of the characters, there’s just no depth here at all. The police subplot has just been dropped completely, unless the investigation into Marianne actually bears any fruit in the finale, while the other characters are only here when the plot calls for it. This series has been a mess and it’s anyone’s guess right now if the finale can go some way to salvage it.